Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

By Alan Moore, Curt Swan, George Perez & Kurt Schaffenberger (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-315-0

Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, sometime in April 1938 (the date on the cover was June, but that was, by custom, the date by which unsold copies had to be returned – and hard it is to imagine that there were any!). An instant sensation, the Man of Steel promptly spawned a veritable infinitude of imitators, and gave birth to a genre, if not an industry. The Original outlived most of them, growing and adapting, creating a pantheon and a mythology, delighting millions of readers over the generations.

In the 50th anniversary year of DC Comics, editors decided that modern readers had moved beyond the old style and continuity, and consequently re-imagined the DC universe and everything in it. Crisis on Infinite Earths unmade that universe, and remade the greatest heroes in it. The editors have spent the intervening years since trying to change it all back again.

None of which is particularly relevant, except that in the lead-up to the big change, departing Editor Julius Schwartz turned his last issues of Superman and Action Comics (#423 and #583 respectively) into a gift of closure for the devoted fans who had followed Superman for all their lives – if not his. With them all concerned said goodbye to a certain kind of hero and a particular type of story. They made way for a tougher, harder universe with less time for charm or fun.

This slim tome collects the contents of those two issues, and was released to commemorate the passing of artist Curt Swan, who had drawn the vast majority of Superman family tales for more than three decades.

‘Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?’ is a glorious ending to an era and a sensibility, written by Alan Moore, stunningly drawn by Swan, and inked by George Perez and the hugely underrated Kurt Schaffenberger. In it, Moore parades for one last time the characters and concepts that made Superman special, and shows the reader just how much will be lost when the World changes.

He manages to instil modern narrative values into the most comfortably traditional scenarios, making the tale work in modern terms whilst keeping the charm, whimsy and inherent decency of the characters. It is a magical feat, a genuine Gotterdammerung; full of tragedy, nobility and heroism but with a happy ending nonetheless. I’m not going to tell you the plot, other than to say it details the last days of the World’s Greatest Superhero. Be prepared to cry when you read it.

This is a story every comic fan, let alone DC reader, should know, and even works as an introduction as well as a grand farewell.

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